Looking for foreign fixes to ease Russia’s financial woes, President Vladimir Putin says China is ready to invest over $18 billion in projects in Siberia. But not everyone is happy about the prospect of China's growing influence in the region. (Current Time TV)

On September 1, an Azerbaijani court sentenced investigative journalist and RFE/RL contributor Khadija Ismayilova to 7 1/2 years in prison. In this edition of RFE/RLive, a panel of human rights experts examines the implications of the case.

The Russian State Duma introduced a bill prohibiting the use of dollars on its territory. If it passes, Russian citizens will be required to close all dollar accounts held in Russian banks within one year, and exchange the money stored in them for rubles or other currencies. (In Russian)

Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny has called for a protest to mark four years since President Vladimir Putin announced his intention to return to the Kremlin after serving as prime minister. "This sleazy, fraudulent move by two fraudsters, carried out at a congress of fraudsters, became a turning point in modern Russian history," Navalny wrote on his website. The Daily Vertical looks back at the protest movements of December 2011 and May 2013, when Navalny sought the Moscow mayor’s office, and wonders where those activists are now.

They're already using the Russian currency. They may soon be issued Russian passports. And in a couple of months, they plan to vote in a stage-managed referendum to formally join Russia. Is Donbas being annexed?

The petition was posted on Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s official website, in the section for public initiatives. According to its author, Saakashvili, who is the current governor of the Odessa region, is able to advance reforms in Ukraine and fight corruption. (In Russian)

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